Short Interest in VF Corporation (NYSE:VFC) Drops By 18.6%

VF Corporation (NYSE:VFC) was the recipient of a large decrease in short interest in the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 34,970,000 shares, a decrease of 18.6% from the October 15th total of 42,940,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 7,130,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.9 days. Currently, 9.5% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Richard Carucci acquired 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 22nd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $16.70 per share, for a total transaction of $250,500.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 230,178 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,843,972.60. This represents a 6.97 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of VF by 328.0% in the second quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,623,875 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $21,922,000 after acquiring an additional 1,244,448 shares in the last quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky boosted its holdings in VF by 90.7% during the second quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 202,723 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $2,737,000 after buying an additional 96,442 shares in the last quarter. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. bought a new stake in VF during the third quarter worth approximately $640,000. Murphy Pohlad Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in VF during the second quarter worth approximately $1,668,000. Finally, Smith Thornton Advisors LLC bought a new stake in VF during the second quarter worth approximately $436,000. 86.84% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VFC has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Argus upgraded shares of VF to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of VF from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of VF from $12.00 to $17.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Telsey Advisory Group upped their target price on shares of VF from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of VF in a research note on Friday, September 27th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $20.00 target price on the stock. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $18.19.

VF Stock Performance

NYSE VFC traded down $0.12 on Friday, hitting $20.16. The stock had a trading volume of 7,264,324 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,242,734. VF has a one year low of $11.00 and a one year high of $23.09. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86. The stock has a market cap of $7.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -11.73, a P/E/G ratio of 7.78 and a beta of 1.52. The company’s 50-day moving average is $19.37 and its two-hundred day moving average is $16.30.

VF (NYSE:VFC) last posted its earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The textile maker reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.41 by $0.19. VF had a negative net margin of 6.68% and a positive return on equity of 12.53%. The firm had revenue of $2.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.72 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.63 EPS. VF’s quarterly revenue was down 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that VF will post 0.48 earnings per share for the current year.

VF Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th will be issued a $0.09 dividend. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 10th. VF’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -20.81%.

VF Company Profile

V.F. Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the design, procurement, marketing, and distribution of branded lifestyle apparel, footwear, and accessories for men, women, and children in the Americas, Europe, and the Asia-Pacific. It operates through three segments: Outdoor, Active, and Work.